Texting Falls In Some Nations This Holiday: Social Networks To Blame?
Whoa, wait a second -- text messaging is on the decline? Well, not entirely, but it's certainly not shooting through the roof from a global perspective any longer. Once thought to be the number one killer of voice minutes, texting seems to be on the decline in a few locales around the world. According to M.G.I. Research, there was a "significant drop" on texts on Christmas Eve in Finland. Reportedly, mobile user son Sonera sent 8.5 million texts on Christmas Eve this year, compared to 10.9 million last year. Hong Kong? They saw a huge decrease -- nearly 14% year-over-year. Even Down Under, Aussies sent 9% fewer texts than in 2010 on the holiday.
Why? Well, there are a few guesses. Mostly, it's pinned on social networks. Things like Facebook, BBM, iMessage, and Twitter are giving people more avenues than ever before to share mass messages; and why send group texts when you could just tweet to all of your followers? We can only hope that "SMS erosion" hits carriers in the pocket-book sooner rather than later -- those pay-per-use rates are in dire need of an overhaul.
Why? Well, there are a few guesses. Mostly, it's pinned on social networks. Things like Facebook, BBM, iMessage, and Twitter are giving people more avenues than ever before to share mass messages; and why send group texts when you could just tweet to all of your followers? We can only hope that "SMS erosion" hits carriers in the pocket-book sooner rather than later -- those pay-per-use rates are in dire need of an overhaul.
